Kurbaan (2009)

How sad is this?

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

The film was not the only thing bad about this Bollywood bomb. Dharma Productions also failed to pay thousands of dollars to actors, vendors and even casting companies. They place the blame on The Swish Group whom they hired to handle the payroll for them. Swish went belly up and filed for bankruptcy. The Phila Teamsters got paid so that the production company could go to NY and finish and not be shut down by the Teamsters up there. In solidarity with American actors, they should have been shut down. In all fairness to the NY teamsters, they probably were unaware of it until it was over. A class action suit is still pending against them. I know since I was one of the actors stiffed by them. That was for work in Dec. of 2008. But the film itself was terrible on it's own merit. It wasn't worth the time I spent to to watch it or work on it.

Karina is beautiful else the movie is horrible. First of all pseudo secularism instilled by our education, media and politics has sipped so deep in the psyche of our society including film industry that we always bend backwards to be politically correct and kurbaan is one such movie. For all wanton acts of terrorism ,some alibi is found and some justification is found out. Some glaring mistakes 1. Kiron kher claims to get married with Om puri in 2001, they seem pretty old. 2. Most laughable is how vivek oberoi cracks the case on his own making FBI look Pygmy in a typical Hindi movie style. Kareena is wooed so easily by Saif , making one feel Indian girls are easy to get.

Rensil D'silva's Kurbaan is an edge-of-the-seat thriller that seldom loses its grip on your attention. Credible performances from its leads, and a nail-biting screenplay make up for the plot holes that threaten to eat into this otherwise engaging film. Set in post-9/11 America, Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan star as Avantika and Ehsaan, professors at a Delhi campus who move to New York after a whirlwind romance, that involves making out in the college staff room, and a prompt marriage. Avantika, who was teaching in the States prior to her stint in India, returns to her original job, and Ehsaan accompanies her, hoping to find a position for himself too. The couple moves into an Indian neighborhood in suburban New York, where Avantika stumbles upon the shocking secret that her husband is part of a sleeper cell of Islamic fundamentalist terrorists that's hatching a plot to bomb the New York subway. She enlists the help of a news channel cameraman Riyaaz Masood (played by Vivek Oberoi), who infiltrates the gang to foil their attack. More compelling than the similarly themed New York, Kurbaan scores for its brisk pacing, and for the fact that it doesn't offer an over-simplistic view of the terrorism issue. The film allows enough room for all perspectives and avoids romanticizing the terrorist as a victim seeking revenge, even if characters like Bhaijaan (played by Om Puri) and Aapa (played by Kirron Kher) make the same point repeatedly. It's in a dramatic classroom scene in which Vivek Oberoi's character Riyaaz confronts white students and their predictable logic, that the film reveals its neutral stance. The key problem with Kurbaan, however, is that it can't decide if it wants to be a serious film addressing a burning issue, or a commercial potboiler set against the backdrop of terrorism. How else do you explain such lapses in logic as Riyaaz's needlessly heroic decision to explore a possible terrorist situation himself, instead of alerting the cops right away? Or the terrorist group's decision to include Riyaaz in their mission without as much as a thorough background check. Even the love scene between Saif and Kareena, although aesthetically shot, has a distinctly 'filmi' logic - Avantika's seducing Ehsaan to get her hands on vital information that could prevent the attacks. Another careless oversight on the part of Kurbaan is the more-or-less insignificant role the FBI plays in all of this. Anyone who's traveled to the United States post 9/11 or even watched a handful of recent Hollywood thrillers will tell you that America became a different country since September 11 happened. Even a mention of words like 'bomb' or 'terrorist' could get you into serious trouble. Which is why it's a little alarming to note that Ehsaan roams about freely on the streets of New York without bothering with so much as a guise, when the FBI have clear photographs of this most-wanted terrorist. Or that he can walk into a bar and stab a man to death, or escape from a run-in with the cops. Just watch the recent Harrison Ford-starrer Crossing Over in which the FBI swoops down on a teenage Bangladeshi girl for a class essay she wrote in which she may have sounded at best 'casual' to the Twin Towers attack. These irregularities might be dismissed as nitpickings in an average masala entertainer, but they stand out in a film like this which prides itself on attention to detail and credibility of intent. Despite its hiccups, Kurbaan works as a suspenseful thriller, sucking you into its drama even though you may have figured out where the story's going. Refer to that terrific scene in which Ehsaan reveals his real identity to Avantika, or the one in which Riyaaz's secret is accidentally revealed to Ehsaan. There is genuine intrigue in these moments, and you're undeniably hooked. Kurbaan is convincing also for the remarkable acting by its three leads, who are a pleasure to watch. If Saif Ali Khan approaches his part with restraint and minimalist fuss, then Kareena Kapoor goes for a simmering, slow-burning performance that eventually punches you in the gut. Vivek Oberoi, despite the occasionally rickety accent, throws himself into the role and turns in a sincere, spontaneous delivery. As an ensemble, the trio turns Kurbaan into one of the best-acted pieces you've seen all year. Armed with Hemant Chaturvedi's efficient camera-work and Salim-Suleiman's rousing music score that never distract from the storytelling, director Rensil D'silva makes a confident debut with a film that is both respectable and engaging. It's a compelling thriller that doesn't shy away from touching prickly issues.

I think all of you insulting Kurbaan are jokers! Kareena and Saif made an effort to act a movie, calling them names is ridiculous! Fine the film might not be something you like but thrashing the movie is really annoying. Give ppl a chance to watch the film and make their own opinions...Kareena Kapoor acted really well in the movie.Saif was good so was Vivek.I have not watched New York but I did see Fanaa and I liked it and I am not even Indian but I appreciate the fact that people try to make films to entertain us. I admit the terrorism part may affect some people but lets get real thats what happens in the world today so guys put a sock in it! There are some really good muslims out there in the world so I do not generalise when I watch films like this.Overall good movie and Kareena sizzled and I am a SAFEENA Fan!